One-shot. Fox x Wolf pairing warning.

Guilty

"We finally defeated the Anglar Empire... But... Why don't I feel so good? I feel so... guilty."

"It's because you cheated Fox. You stole the device from him."

A day had passed since the people had commemorated team Star Wolf's heroic job. Aside from a parade around the capital city, Peppy awarded them with a new fully-functioning, ROB64-compatible mothership where the four stayed and a good amount of cash in which they decided to split - Panther decided to bring Krystal to a classy restaurant while saving the rest for "something in the future", Krystal gave some of her part for the restoration of Corneria, while Leon spent some for a small flowering plant he soon "fell in love with", among other things. Wolf hadn't touched his share though. He was bothered a lot by his thoughts - by his guilt.

'I don't deserve this,' he thought. He looked at his drinking glass, half-filled with cheap beer. His poor reflection from the glass gave him a picture on how he saw himself - diluted and warped. 'Why am I feeling this guilt...? Shouldn't I care less because it's Fox...?' He took a short sip before reflecting again. "Was it because... after all the honorable rivalry between the two of us... I was the one who tarnished it? Was it because... while I brought Fox down... I did it unfairly?"

Panther entered the lounge room along with Krystal, whom he was holding hands with. The two were surprised to see their leader drowning with alcohol, that they immediately confronted him. "Wolf, you're drinking too much. This is not like you," Panther said while pulling out the bottle and glass from the wolf's grip. He expected a yell, but Wolf only made a blank stare. "Hey Wolf, something the matter?"

"Wolf... I see..." Krystal looked at Panther and explained, "Wolf's feeling depressed. He felt guilty after stealing the device from Fox and Falco. I thought he'd get over it but..."

"I'll just... take a walk," Wolf told them quickly while getting up from the chair. He didn't say another word. His thoughts were circling around the fact that he ruined Fox not through skill but through something that was below the belt. He looked at the pale afternoon sky. 'I did it for the sake of my team. If I hadn't done that, then the bounty on our heads wouldn't be lifted.' As he passed through the hallway and exited the mothership, his thoughts continued to wonder. 'But had I not left it, wouldn't my team get clearance as well? Wouldn't we help Fox after all? Wouldn't we be still considered heroes?' He crossed the street, carefully walking at the pedestrian lane but not caring much at all. 'But then... people would only notice Fox and Falco... and not my team. Krystal would be called a traitor... We would only be seen as hangers-on and not heroes...' He stopped in front of a famous local tavern. 'But... why is it important?'

His thoughts continued to circle around his head. A glass of beer allowed him to lessen this feeling, but even then, traces of this feeling of uneasiness continued to bother him. 'At least it eased me.' He sat on a barstool and ordered a single glass. However, the bartender's attention shifted from him to another customer.

"See? This... is what happens... when people... soon forget what... you have done!"

"Sir, please stay calm. I'll call the police and-"

"Call the what? Hah!"

Wolf looked to his side and saw some drunken person making a fit at a bartender. He was surprised on what he saw. "Damn you! I said... I am... Fox McCloud! Hero! I saved your asses... when you couldn't do nothing!"

'So... this is what happened to him... My doing.' The sight of his rival acting like a drunken lunatic felt like a sharp knife stabbing his conscience. He quickly grabbed Fox tightly through the armpits and pulled him off out of the tavern. The vulpine struggled while giving out foul language, but soon Wolf overpowered Fox because of the vulpine's drunken state. "Sorry for the trouble," the wolf noted to the people while pulling his rival off to the back door.

Once they were outside at the back entrance of the tavern, Wolf released Fox. "Wolf... WOLF! You son of a bitch!" Fox yelled out while attempting to punch the bigger, more muscular canid. "It's all your fault! YOU, YOU, YOU! Krystal left me! Falco left me! I was all alone thanks to you! Are you happy, you cheating scoundrel?!" The punches weren't quite strong, but Wolf let them strike his chest. "HAPPY? HAPPY? HAPPY?!"

"Fox," Wolf softly responded. He could see the vulpine trying to punch hard, but couldn't. He could see his tears coming out. "I..."

"You're happy now that you finally brought me down!" Fox cried out before kneeling down in front of him, punching the ground. "All you need to do is to kill me! Go ahead! You're doing me a favor!" Fox held Wolf's right leg tightly. "KILL ME! PUT ME OUT OF THIS MISERY!"

"No... But I'll put you out of this misery..." Wolf quickly delivered an uppercut at Fox, rendering the vulpine unconscious to the ground. He pulled him up and carried him. 'If there is a way for me to relieve this guilt, then I will do it.'

A day passed. Fox awakened from a sofa while covered with a blanket. 'Where am I?' He looked around and even touched his own dress. 'These aren't mine...' He then looked at the door which opened.

"Glad you're awake," Wolf greeted him. "I'd want to share a room with you but I might as well make you sleep at the couch first."

"Wolf!" Fox growled. His face suddenly changed, giving a fierce look. "What do you want from me?!"

Wolf didn't respond. He just stood there with a calm look. He neared towards Fox, who was then taking some evasive action. He sat beside the vulpine, still not changing his look.

"Answer me, Wolf!" Fox shouted.

"Hey, keep your voice down, it's still a bit early. Lobo Grande might be big, but shouts can still be heard through the halls," Wolf said in a coolly manner. "You all right, Fox? You were quite rough back then at the tavern. You're wearing my old clothes by the way. You soiled your clothing back at the bar."

'Tavern? Oh right... I got drunk... but...' He looked at Wolf. The lupine's right eye was quite deep. He could tell that something was bothering Wolf because of it - it wasn't showing signs of fierceness or slyness. He decided to calm down a bit and asked again. "Wolf... Tell me, what are you up to? Why did you bring me here?"

"Ever had the feeling that you did something terribly wrong?" Wolf replied in a rather low tone. "That it would bother you quite so much, that you couldn't rest?" Fox simply raised an eyebrow. "Fox... I... I... I couldn't take it. At first, when I took the device from you and Falco... I didn't feel this. I was happy. After all, I was doing it for the good of my team." He paused for a bit to look at Fox before continuing. "However, afterwards... I felt quite... uneasy. The more I felt guilty about what I did, the more I felt bothered in my conscience..."

Fox was breathless. 'Wolf feels guilt after all... He has emotions and conscience in the end...' He asked, "What do you want me to do then?"

Wolf shook his head. "No. The better question would be - what do you want me to do for you? I want to make up for that treachery. I vowed to bring you down in a fair fight... and what I did was quite low, that I don't think I deserve the honor anymore."

"Wolf..."

Wolf looked back at him. "May I suggest that you join Star Wolf? At least, I'll be able to compensate on your lack of job... and well... you're a skilled pilot."

Fox didn't say a word. He thought about this, as he believed this could be a decision that could change his life forever. 'That means I have to trust Wolf... I am still a bit unsure about this. He seems sincere... but...' He decided to take this chance. "Fine then."

For the first time, Wolf smiled in a rather happy way. "Thanks... Although of course this means I'll be your leader!" he grinned. Fox felt a rather ticklish feeling after Wolf said that, making him laugh as well.

Fox at first, felt a bit out-of-place, even with Krystal. But then again, this was a different Krystal - a free-spirited and renegade, now closer to Panther than to him. He wasn't even able to relate to Leon, who had weird fetishes and had a tendency to creep him out. Talking to ROB64 would be all right, as it seemed to be the same ROB64 back at Great Fox, but he would rather have a person to talk to. He followed Wolf around the Lobo Grande for days, although he slowly opened to the others, particularly when a mission was given to them by Peppy.

"Well, we only have four ships, and until we can afford one more, you'll either have to share with someone as a co-pilot or you'll stay here and assist us," Wolf told to Fox during a meeting. "Knowing you, I am sure you'd prefer to be out in the mission, so you'll be my co-pilot."

"Well, isn't that fast!" Fox argued with a humorous tone. "What made you think that I wouldn't want to stay here?"

"What, you'd rather have tea with tin can rather than enjoy a deadly, dangerous mission with me?" Wolf smiled with a tease, poking Fox's nose.

'Oh, he's getting aggressive, eh? Trying to dominate!' Fox grasped Wolf's finger and bit it gently. "Oh, you'll have to try harder to make me go there, Wolf!"

"Try me!" the lupine countered by rubbing Fox's head.

Panther, Leon and Krystal didn't talk. They rather observed the two try to overcome the other. "In fact, I think of it as a power-play!" Leon giggled silently.

"Well, this is interesting though. I've never seen Wolf so... playful," Panther commented. "You'd think someone like him would be all so tough... It's as if he's finding for a..."

"...a mate," Krystal nodded. "And I have never even seen Fox so playful as well. You'd think they're...?"

They just glanced at the two, who continued to argue and tease each other.

Fox soon submitted to Wolf's order, if only because Wolf began to call him 'pup' once more. He boarded Wolf's Wolfen as a co-pilot, the person seated behind Wolf. The mission was simple - ridding of lost asteroid chunks that were about to hit a station.

"Just watch and learn, pup!" Wolf boasted, firing an energy shot through a large asteroid.

"Right, wake me up when you're done!" Fox taunted him. He leaned onto Wolf's seat, feeling a bit comfortable on it. 'Wait... Why am I doing this? Am I becoming closer to Wolf?'

"Quiet, pup! Don't nap on me!" the lupine continued. As the asteroid exploded, a beautiful nova formation was seen. It was Sector Z. "Wow... Will you look at this, pup?" He pointed at the celestial body. The stars were glittering as if it had a rhythm.

"Looks... quite awesome," Fox murmured behind Wolf's ear. "Never seen it like this... The only time I was able to see this place was during war... I never tried to view this nova peacefully."

"Yeah, it looks beautiful..."

"Wolf..."

"What is it, Fox?"

Krystal suddenly broke their moment. "What are you two doing? We're done here."

"Sorry!" Fox responded. He then whispered to Wolf, "I'll tell you later..."

Back at the mothership, Fox, for the very first time, went inside Wolf's room. Wolf had already offered him to sleep in his place, but the vulpine was a bit shy at first. It was only this time did he have the courage to enter the place.

"Nice bed," Fox said while playing with the foam. "We gonna share this?"

"Unless you want to build another one, then yeah," Wolf grinned, taking his shirt off and putting on his sleeping pants. "So... what were you gonna say to me earlier?"

Fox, who was putting on his sleep-wear, was startled by that thought. "Oh, well... I was just wondering..." He jumped onto the bed, resting beside Wolf. "You know... Well... Lemme ask you... how're you feeling?"

Wolf looked at him to the side, placing his arm behind Fox's. "It has been a while. Now that I look at it, I don't feel so bad anymore... In fact," he rested his ear onto the vulpine's ear, "I think... I have gotten closer... It's sorta weird really."

"Yeah... I haven't felt this feeling towards you until today," Fox smiled back, shyly wrapping his arm onto Wolf's bare muscular chest. "Actually, I had been feeling this before... but I hadn't really been able to express it to you quite... much."

Despite their furs, the blushing could be seen on their cheeks. "I really never expected ourselves to end up like this... You know... for a while, I thought when our rivalry ended... I thought I wouldn't know what to do," Wolf whispered while tickling Fox's ear. "But now..."

"And I was worried how you would treat me... I never imagined we'll end up like this," Fox smiled.

The two drew their muzzles close. Wolf closed the lights, and the two enjoyed each other's company quite passionately.